Tang Ti-sheng

Tang Ti-sheng (Chinese: 唐滌生; pinyin: Táng Díshēng) (June 18, 1917 - September 15, 1959), born Tang Kang-nien (Chinese: 唐康年; pinyin: Táng Kāngnián), was a Cantonese opera playwright, scriptwriter, and film director. His contributions to Cantonese opera significantly influenced Hong Kong's reform and development of the genre beginning in the late 1930s. During his twenty-year career, Tang composed over 400 operas and achieved immense popularity within the Cantonese opera scene. He also wrote the film scripts adapted from his own operas, directed the movies and at times acted in them himself. A few of his most famous works include Bird at Sunset (落霞孤騖 Cantonese: laai⁶ haa⁴ gu¹ mou⁶), Red Tears of an Aspen (白楊紅淚 baak⁶ joeng⁴ gung¹ leoi⁶), Sweet Dreams (花都綺夢 faa¹ dou¹ ji² mung⁶), and his last piece The Reincarnation of Lady Plum Blossom (再世紅梅記 zoi³ sai³ gung¹ mui⁴ gei³).

Biography

Tang was born in Heilongjiang province, northeastern China. Upon graduating from the Guangdong Sun Yat-sen Memorial Middle School, Tang reportedly attended the Shanghai Fine Arts School and also the Shanghai Baptist College. With the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Tang fled south to Hong Kong in 1937 where he joined the Kok Sin Sing Opera Troupe (覺先聲粵劇團) led by his double (cousin) in-law and one of the "Four Super Stars" Sit Kok Sin (薛覺先). His first wife was the tenth sister (薛覺清) of Sit while Sit was married to his paternal first cousin (唐雪卿). Tang worked as a copyist and assistant to Fung Chi-fen (馮志芬) and Nam Hoi Sup-sam Long (南海十三郎), two famous writers for the troupe.

With the encouragement of Sit Kok Sin, Tang began his career as a playwright in 1938 with his first opera The Consoling Lotus of Jiangcheng (江城解語花 gong¹ sing⁴ gaai² jyu⁵ faa¹). Throughout the next twenty years Tang wrote a total of 446 opera scripts, while 80 of those were adapted to movies. He also directed nine films himself, and acted in four of them.

The Immortal Zhang Yuqiao (the Most Respectable Courtesan) (萬世流芳張玉喬) was a milestone in his career when he was asked to help an academic Jian Youwen (簡又文教授) in 1954 for the Sun Yim Yeung Troupe.^[1] His scripts, albeit monolithic Mandarin and Butterfly 鴛鴦蝴蝶派, gradually matured to making the performers (戲擔人) successful instead of relying on the performers (人擔戲) to make his scripts successful.

On 25 August 1989, months before Wong Yue Sang (王粵生) (8 January 1919 - 12 December 1989) passed away, Mr. Wong talked about his experience working with Tang on radio show (唐滌生藝術迴響). Tang's collaboration with Mr. Wong created theme songs that were instant hits at debut on stage. One example was the Hung Sin Nui December 1951 hit Red Candle Tears (紅燭淚).^[2]

Lyrics (75 characters only) in Chinese:

"身如柳絮隨風擺，

歷劫滄桑無了賴，

鴛鴦扣，宜結不宜解；

苦相思，能買不能賣。

悔不該，惹下冤孽債，

怎料到賒得易時還得快！

顧影自憐，不復似如花少艾，

恩愛煙消瓦解，只剩得半殘紅燭在襟懷。"

Libretti

A

1. All Because of a Smile (film in hkmdb)

B

1. Beautiful Begonia^{[Note 1]} (艷滴海棠紅) or Beautiful Crab Apple Flower (film in hkmdb)
2. Beauty Fades From Twelve Ladies' Tower
3. A Beauty's Flourishing Fragrant or A Pedestal of Rouge Fragrance or Sweet Dew on a Beautiful Flower (3 titles in English for the same one in Chinese)
4. Bird at Sunset
5. The Blessings of the Moon
6. A Buddhist Recluse for Fourteen Years

D

1. Di Nü Hua^{[Note 2][Note 3][Note 4]}
2. Dong Xiaowan 董小宛 (1950 film in hkmdb directed by Tang)
3. The Double-Pearl Phoenix
4. The Dream Encounter Between Emperor Wu of Han and Lady Wai
5. The Dream of the Red Chamber^{[Note 5]}
6. Dream of the West Chamber

E

1. The Eternal Peony (film in hkmdb)

F

1. The Frosty Night^{[Note 1]} (月落烏啼霜滿天)
2. Forty Years of Cherished Love^{[Note 6]}

G

1. The Gilded Fan
2. Goddess of the Luo River
3. Goddess from Ninth Heaven

H

1. The Happy Wedding
2. The Hero and the Concubine

I

1. The Impatient Bride (film in hkmdb written and directed by Tang)
2. I'm Crazy About You (film in hkmdb)

L

1. The Lady’s Sash
2. Lonely Moon on a Lonely Bed^{[3][Note 1]} (一彎眉月伴寒衾) or Sad Autumn (1952 film and 1964 film) for the same Chinese title
3. Lovers' Reunion or Returning Home on a Snowy Night^{[Note 1]} (一樓風雪夜歸人) (film in hkmdb)
4. The Love Song in the Scripture (艷曲梵經)^[3]
5. Love Triangle^{[Note 1]} (春鶯盜御香)

M

1. The Marriage of Tang Bohu
2. Marrying the Sister-in-Law^{[Note 7]}
3. Mistake at the Flower Festival^{[Note 2]}
4. Mrs. Cheng "Alias: A Forsaken Woman" (1954 film in hkmdb)
5. Mysterious Murder^{[Note 1]} (紅菱血) (film in hkmdb) or Hongling's Blood as directed by Tang in 1951 (Part 1 and Part 2)

O

1. The Outburst of a Shrew

P

1. The Peony Pavilion^{[Note 2][Note 3]}
2. A Phoenix in Springtime (1954 film in hkmdb) or renamed The Merry Phoenix (1958 film in hkmdb by the debut cast)
3. The Purple Hairpin^{[Note 2][Note 3][Note 4]}

R

1. Rain Flower^{[3][Note 1]} (一自落花成雨後)
2. Rainbow at the End (film in hkmdb)
3. Red Cherries and a Broken Heart
4. The Red Plum Pavilion^{[Note 1]} (紅梅閣上夜歸人)
5. Red Silk Shoes and the Murder
6. Red Tears of an Aspen
7. Regret from the Spring Lantern and Feather Fan
8. The Reincarnation of a Beauty^{[Note 2][Note 3]}
9. Reunion at Rouge Alley
10. The Reunion by a White Hare
11. Romance Across the East Wall
12. Romantic Night^[3] (film in hkmdb)
13. A Romance of Pear Blossoms

S

1. The Spy Who Loves Me
2. The Story of Horse Selling 1956 film Guizhi Sues directed by Tang and 1959 film Gui Zhi Sues written by others with the same English title of this story
3. The Story of the Lute
4. The Story of a Woman Scholar at the Han Place^{[Note 1]} (漢苑玉梨魂)
5. The Summer Snow
6. Swallows Come Home
7. The Swallow's Message
8. A Sweet Girl's Fancies (film in hkmdb)
9. Sword of Destined Revenge^{[Note 1]} (一劍能消天下仇)

T

1. Tears of Ashes^{[Note 1]} (一寸相思一寸灰)
2. The Ten-Year Dream

W

1. The Widow with Grievance^[3] (film in hkmdb)
2. A Wife in Nobility is Never Free^{[Note 1]} (一入侯門深似海) (film in hkmdb)

X

1. Xi Shi^[3]

Y

1. Younger Brother Bridge

Notes

See also

• Cantonese Opera
• Synopses of Cantonese Opera (Chinese/English)
• search=唐滌生 of Cantonese Opera Young Talent Showcase Webpage (www.hkbarwoymt.com)
• Di Nü Hua

References

External links

• Zhuhai's Tang Disheng was true Master of Guangdong Opera
• Cantonese Opera Genius Tang Ti-sheng (粵劇鬼才唐滌生) (Chinese)